South County

Google Translate for Runners

We runners are a different breed. We have our own language, our own sense of humor, our own little quirks that add subtle nuances to the running vernacular. Below is a guide to common phrases used by runners—and the true meanings behind the expressions. You could call it a Google Translate of sorts. You know, for the running crowd.

“So, what pace are you hoping to run?”Translation: “Are you competition?”

“Oh, you’re from around here? What school did you go to? What year did you graduate?”Translation: “Are you in my age group?”

“Wow! That is really fast.”Translation: “I didn’t think you were that fast.”

“Wow! That’s awesome.”Translation: “I thought you were faster.”

“My training hasn’t been great.”Translation: “Training has been my life for the past eighteen weeks.”

“I’m just hoping to finish.”Translation: “I will PR or die.”

“Nice to meet you! Good luck!”Translation: “My new goal in life is to beat you in this race.”

“I’ll try to hang with you as long as I can.”Translation: “I will drive you into the ground.”

“I hit the wall hard. I don’t think I fueled properly.”Translation: “I went out too fast.”

“I don’t know what happened.”Translation: “I went out too fast.”

“I was on pace for the first twenty miles, but then I hit the wall. Training wasn’t great. I’ve been battling an injury. And I just got over being sick. Guess it all caught up to me.”Translation: “I went out too fast.”

“I’m just running this race for fun.”Translation: “My eternal happiness hinges on the outcome of this race.”

“Yeah, I did twenty this morning.”Translation: “Can you believe I just ran twenty freakin’ miles? I’m amazing.”

“My hamstrings got a little tight.”Translation: “I’ve lost the ability to bend at the waist.”

“My Achilles has been acting up lately.”Translation: “About ten weeks ago, I blew out my Achilles, but I’m still running on it.”

“I took some time off to let it heal.”Translation: “I didn’t run last Thursday.”

“Yeah, I’ll get it looked at after the race.”Translation: “I will wait for it to go away on its own.”

“Yeah, I should probably see a doctor.”Translation: “I will not see a doctor.”

“I get irritable if I don’t run.”Translation: “If I don’t run, I may or may not become homicidal.”

“Yeah, I enjoy running.”Translation: “Let’s hope I never have to choose between running and my firstborn.”

“You run, too? That’s awesome. What distances do you like to race?”Translation: “I sense a potential threat to my age group/gender placement.”

“That’s right at my pace!”Translation: “It’s on, buddy. Bring it.”

“I’m not training for anything right now.”Translation: “I’m always training.”

“Today was a recovery run, so I didn’t even pay attention to pace.”Translation: “I know exactly how slow I ran, but I refuse to tell you because it is not representative of my ability.”

“Today is a light day, so I’m probably going to run six or eight.”Translation: “I’m going to run six miles. But I usually run further. Why couldn’t you have asked me how far I ran yesterday after my long run?”

“The race went really well. I felt good.”Translation: “I had the race of my life. Please ask for details. I want to tell you how awesome I am.”

“The race didn’t go well. But it happens, you know?”Translation: “No, you don’t know. You will never, ever be able to comprehend how awful it was. I cried. I puked. I walked. I had diarrhea. My body hates me. The sport hates me. The world hates me. I trained for four months for this? WHY ME? WHY?

“I think I just need to take a break from training for a while.”Translation: “I’ve already signed up for my next race.”